Forbes names Folorunsho Alakija, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as 'most powerful women in the world'

By Osagie Alonge

Forbes Magazine has listed two Nigerian women, two-time Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and billionaire Folorunsho Alakija in their ‘100 Most Powerful Women in the World’ list.

Okonjo-Iweala is ranked 44th position while Alakija is 96th. In 2013, Alakija was ranked 63rd, while Okonjo-Iweala was at number 59.

Beyoncé comes in at 17th position while Lady Gaga at 67th. Others included in the list are US First Lady Michelle Obama (8th), Media mogul Oprah Winfrey (14th), Queen Elizabeth (35th) and actresses Anna Wintour (39th) and Angelina Jolie (50th).

Read what Forbes wrote about the women below:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Nigerian economist Okonjo-Iweala didn’t let her failed 2012 bid to become president of the World Bank slow her down. In 2011, she received her second appointment as finance minister of Nigeria. Since then, the country’s GDP has displayed robust growth — 6.87% growth between 2012 and 2013 — especially given the relatively sluggish global recovery. Okonjo-Iweala was key to developing the reform programs that helped stabilize Nigeria’s economy and improve governmental transparency. She has now turned her attention to Nigeria’s 14% unemployment rate. The Harvard- and M.I.T.-trained Okonjo-Iweala spent 21 years as a development economist at the World Bank.

Folorunsho Alakakija

Folorunsho Alakija’s winding path to becoming one of the richest woman in Africa began in London, where she pursued secretarial studies and fashion design as a young woman. After returning to Nigeria to work as an executive secretary, she founded her own tailoring company, Supreme Stitches. With clients such as former first lady Maryam Babangida, her company quickly rose to prominence among Nigeria’s high society. Her closeness with Babangida proved even more valuable when the Ministry of Energy approved her oil prospecting license in 1993, granting her a lucrative block in Nigeria’s coastal waters. Famfa Oil, which she controls, now holds a 60% stake in the oil field. It pumps about 200,000 barrels a day. In 2008, she founded The Rose of Sharon Foundation, which works to help widows and orphans. And in 2013, she was appointed the vice chair of Nigeria’s National Heritage Council and Endowment for the Arts

Check out the full list below…